Thursday, March 5, 2020

2 Nephi 9:5-7


5 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.
6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

Jacob tells the Nephites Christ will appear in Jerusalem.  He will be subject to them and die. Through His death, all men will become subject to Him.  Nephi would later write, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw call men unto him.  Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:24).

Christ would tell the Nephites:

“And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
“And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works” (3 Nephi 27:14–15).

It was appropriate that Jacob was a priest and teacher.  “Jacob was particularly qualified to serve [as a priest and teacher] because, as Lehi noted, he had seen the glory of the Redeemer and knew of his ministry in the flesh and of the salvation he would bring (2 Nephi 2:3—4; cf. 11:3; Jacob 2:11)..”[1]

Death comes upon all men.  Why?  To fulfill the plan of salvation.  There has to be a resurrection.  This comes about because of Adam’s fall.  The fall came about because of transgression.  Through transgression, we are cut off from the presence of the Lord.  In Ecclesiastes we read:

“Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
“For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
“There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it” (Ecclesiastes 8:6-8).

John Tvedtnes continues:

“The fall of Adam resulted in two types of death, both required under the law of justice. The physical or temporal death separates the spirit from the body, while the spiritual death separates us from God (see D&C 29:40—43). Lehi declared that, ‘By the law men are cut off ... by the temporal law ... and also, by the spiritual law ... and become miserable forever’ (2 Nephi 2:5). Jacob put it this way: ‘For as death hath passed upon all men ... because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord’ (2 Nephi 9:6; cf. verse 9).”[2]

The plan of salvation is an infinite atonement.  Were it not, “corruption could not put on incorruption” (2 Nephi 9:7).  Through the first judgment, we die and our flesh will “rot and … crumble to its mother earth to rise no more” (2 Nephi 9:7).  Alma2 and Amulek both confronted Zeezrom over this issue (first Amulek). 

“Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body.  I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption” (Alma 11:45).

Next, Alma2.

“And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first” (Alma 12:36).

Alma2 would explain to his son, Corianton:

“But behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man…
“Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death…
“And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence” (Alma 42:6, 9, 14).

“The plan of God, therefore, was for Adam and Eve to become mortal or imperfect, in order that they and their offspring might gain experience unavailable to them in their perfect condition. But there was a problem to be overcome. Since the penalty for disobedience is death, it was necessary to forestall the judgment in order to give mankind the opportunity to repent. In the eternal plan, this meant (1) providing a savior whose death would satisfy the demands of justice, and (2) establishing a probationary period during which Adam's family could be tested and learn obedience to the plan of mercy.”[3]


[1] The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.

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